Heaven and Hell
by 12500
Summary: Light has some important questions for Ryuk about the Shinigami.


p class="MsoNormal""Ryuk?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Yes, Light?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Why haven't any Shinigami ever systematically killed criminals? Surely some of you must have some sense of justice."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Well, for one thing…"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Ryuk took a thoughtful pause, as though he were carefully considering his answer./p  
p class="MsoNormal""…doing something like that would definitely be contrary to our role as gods of death. In fact, I was about to say that it would be against our principles, but I don't think it's technically part of the principles we are bound by death to adhere to. So it would be theoretically possible for a Shinigami to do something like what you're doing."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Light stared at Ryuk expectantly./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I guess that answer wasn't good enough for you." /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Ryuk smiled wryly as he tossed an apple between his hands. Light was not quite as amused./p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Well then, let me go on. Although it's technically possible, we Shinigami simply don't have a desire to do things like that. We're not saviors…we're death gods. Quite the opposite really. Of course you may find some Shinigami that start to develop a complex of some kind, but personally, I don't care one way or the other whether human beings live in a perfect world, whatever that looks like. In fact, it's more fun for me when things are chaotic down here. It makes for a good show."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Ryuk's last few words were muffled somewhat as they filtered through the chunks of apple in his mouth./p  
p class="MsoNormal" "But wouldn't you rather kill criminals?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Light asked this with a hint of incredulity in his voice…he was most certainly a brilliant tactician, but he seemed to have a little difficulty accepting the nature of the Shinigami./p  
p class="MsoNormal""You could kill anybody after all. Why choose to kill a good person when you could kill someone bad instead? Surely it's better to kill those who deserve to die."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Ryuk grinned widely, and reached for another apple. It was so thoughtful of Light to bring him a dozen apples today…though of course, Light's version of 'thoughtful' was always a little suspect. He'd see what Light wanted soon enough. He bit into the apple greedily, and asked (again with chunks of apple filling his cheeks),/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Well, that all depends, doesn't it?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" Light was clearly irritated by this answer. He had asked a straightforward question…surely it's not complicated to decide something this simple./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "Depends on em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"what/em?" Light did his best to hide his frustration…his tone had a façade of brightness, but underneath was a hint of a growl. He is quite sensitive about this kind of thing. /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Ryuk continued nonchalantly./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "Well, Light…where do you think people go after they die?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "Honestly…up until recently I assumed people just die. I didn't believe they went anywhere. Though of course, I've had to reconsider that position, now that I know Shinigami style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIf there are death gods floating around in the sky, then I suppose anything is possible."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "But you don't feel particularly strongly about the idea of Heaven and Hell?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "I guess not," Light admitted./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "Of course, if em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I /emthought that…em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"and /emI cared about creating a perfect society for human beings…which I don't, of course, but if I did…then I might try and select my victims based on their moral culpability. I might try and do some version of what you're doing. Sure. But we Shinigami usually believe in Heaven and Hell, and I'm sure you can figure out why that matters on your own."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Yes. If killing a good person means they are sent to Heaven, then it might be seen as a gift from the Shinigami, for these people to be sent away early. Less time spent suffering on earth./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "If there is a Heaven and Hell, we Shinigami serve only to send each person to their rightful place. The time of their death isn't especially important. In fact, your whole little game, your perfect world, becomes almost entirely pointless. What difference does it make whether the world is good or bad, when you're going to Heaven or Hell for eternity? If Heaven and Hell are real, we Shinigami play a very small role in the eventual state of things."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Light carefully considered this information, though the pause was barely perceptible./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "You keep speaking hypothetically about Heaven and Hell. Do Shinigami actually know anything certain about Heaven and Hell? Can you be entirely sure that they exist?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "No, as a matter of fact, we can only be as sure as most humans. Though we're a little more predisposed to believe in the possibility, since we know of the existence of multiple realms and immortality, whereas humans do not…with one or two exceptions, of course."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Light paused once again, for a little longer this time. It was clear that he wanted to know something particular about the Shinigami. Ryuk was fairly sure of what Light wanted to know, but he preferred to tease Light into asking directly./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" "Well, Light, I am so glad we had this friendly conversation. It seems you don't have any more questions to ask me. Thank you so much for the apples, by the way. These ones are especially juicy."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p 


End file.
